Airport Bomb Detection Technologies - Essay Example

Airport Bomb Detection Technologies “The three major categories of terrorists targets have always been diplomatic facilities, airplanes, airline ticket offices and airports” (Howard, p.18) Airports and aircrafts are mostly attacked by the terrorist groups in order to execute their mission to kill innocent people. Airports are busy places where people come together for their travelling needs. Planting of bombs in airports is an easy task for terrorists even though many sophisticated bomb detection technologies are currently in place in many airports. Different metal detection or bomb detection techniques like scanning, X ray photographs etc are strictly employed in most of the airports because of the increased threats from terrorist. But the terrorists are finding loopholes in these security measures and they are executing their plans or projects without many problems. At the time of writing this paper, Deccan Chronicle dated 28 March 2010 reported that “the Kerala police has taken into custody an employee of a private cargo firm for his alleged involvement in placing an explosive device on a Kingfisher flight to Thiruvananthapuram on March 21” (Deccan Chronicle). The advanced airport bomb detection technologies are currently in place which succeeded up to certain extent in preventing the terrorists from entering the airports with bombs. This paper briefly explains the airport bomb detection technologies. Airport Bomb Detection Technologies It is impossible to make a bomb without metallic parts. X rays are used extensively in airport scanning systems in order to find out the presence of metallic portions either in the baggage or on the body of the passengers Moreover, Douglas, (2006) has reported that “Sky Harbour International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona has already implemented a new federal screening system that takes x-rays of all passengers’ bodies in an attempt to detect concealed explosives and other weapons” (Douglas, 2006). X-rays are short wavelength, high energy waves in the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of the high penetrating power it is difficult to reflect it. The wavelengths of x-rays are of the order of or smaller than the size of atoms and as a result they appear less like waves and more like particles. Between atoms there are lots of tiny gaps and X rays can effectively pass between the atoms. They penetrate deeply into a material before interacting with an individual atom. It is possible to produce mirror images using soft x-rays if the x-rays hit the mirror at small angles to the reflecting surface (What are Hard X-Rays?). Thus X rays are useful in taking photographs of hard opaque objects. For example, we can use X rays to take photographs of our bones since the flesh part is transparent to the X rays because of the high penetrating power whereas bones will reflect it back. Same way X rays can be used in detecting bombs in airports as bombs are usually made of hard metallic objects. Apart from taking X ray photographs, the Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) technology is used in major airports as an additional layer of security. ETD technology is used to scan both the baggage and the passenger. ETD technology works on the principle that all explosive materials, regardless of the amount, decompose exothermically after being exposed to sufficient activation energy. The decomposition process results in an intense release of heat to the environment surrounding an explosive particle, producing a localized, sharp increase in temperature, followed by a sharp decrease in temperature once the energetic material has been consumed (Explosives Trace Detection (ETD)). It is a cost effective technology which can detect the presence of explosives easily. These results will be analysed by the ETD scanner using detection algorithms, to find out the presence of explosives Trace detection and analysis is another way of finding out the presence of explosives in airports. This technology is effective in detecting the presence of explosives tied to the chest or waist of suicide bombers. All the people and the baggage will go through trace detection machine which blow air gently over a person or baggage, releasing chemical particles that might cling to their body, clothes or baggage. The air is then analyzed for traces of known chemical explosives such as TNT and RDX. Millimeter wave technology is another technology used in locating the presence of explosives in airports. Human body emits high-frequency, millimeter-wave energy at a different rate than denser materials. The sensors that can detect tiny amounts of millimeter-wave energy emitted by or reflected from objects can reveal a dense object hidden under clothes (Predd) Quadrupole resonance (QR) is another technology used in airports for detecting explosives. It is similar to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. “The MRI machines have large magnets, which affect the magnetic properties of the nuclei of the water in the human body to generate an image whereas QR, operates under the principle that a magnetic resonance signal can be detected from explosives without applying a large external magnetic field” (Sandra) Another technology under development for detecting airport explosive detection is a mobile mass spectrometer to detect traces of explosives quickly and on-the-spot. This technology works on surfaces, like skin and clothing, which is a major advantage for the airport bomb detectors Mobile mass spectrometer technology use the method of desorption electro spray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry. In this method, the object under scrutiny is sprayed with a mist of alcohol and water and the molecules from the objects surface are picked up and analyzed using a mass spectrometer. The whole process of collection of the mist and analysis will take only six seconds to complete so that that the time delay can be avoided (Airport explosives detection made easy). Moreover, mobile or portable mass spectrometers can be used to detect the presence of biological or chemical weapons also apart from the common bomb explosives using TNTs and RDX. This spectrometer can be used to analyse the samples on the spot and hence the passengers will be comfortable with this type of security checks. In most of the other security check ups the passengers need to wait for longer period to get the result and to resume their journeys. On the other hand portable mass spectrometers are capable of producing the results within six seconds. This equipment works in all types of mediums and does not need a vacuum environment unlike many of the other security checking measures. When technology fails, dogs can be used to detect the presence of explosives. Trained dogs are widely used in explosive detection processes in airports. Dogs are capable of smelling objects and their smelling capacity is higher than any other living things because of the peculiar physiological construction of their noses. Specially trained dogs can trace the explosives and inform his master about it. About 700 bomb-sniffing dogs currently work at U.S. airports. They are trained to detect up to a dozen different explosive compounds, including PETN. The dogs used by the Transportation Security Administration are trained at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas. They patrol airport terminals, check unidentified packages and sniff baggage that raises alarms during X-ray screening. A well-trained dog and a very good, well-trained handler can find explosives with little or no false alarms. Fran Townsend, a former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush and a current CNN contributor on national security issues, says the use of dogs in airports should be expanded. Dogs tend to be the cheapest, fastest and most reliable explosive detection capacity (Conder & Finstorm) Conclusions Different technologies and methods are used in detecting explosives or bombs at airports. X ray scanners, portable mass spectrometers, quadrupole resonance technology, explosive trace detection technology, trained dogs etc are used extensively in detecting explosives, like bombs, TNT, RDX, chemical and biological weapons etc at airports. Works Cited 1. “Airport Explosives Detection Made Easy”. 29 March 2010. 2. Conder Chuck & Finstorm Kara. 2009. CNN Travel. “Are Dogs the Key to Bomb Detection at Airports?”. 28 March 2010. 3. Deccan Chronicle. 29 March 2010. “Kingfisher Bomb Case Solved: Police”. 29 March 2010. 4. Douglas, Jerome. 2006. “TSA to Start Using "Naked" X-Ray Technology That Sees Through Clothing of Air Travel Passengers”. 29 March 2010. 5. “Explosives Trace Detection (ETD)”. 29 March 2010. 6. Howard, Lawrence. 1992. “Terrorism: Roots, Impact, Responses”. Publisher: Praeger Publishers (April 30, 1992) 7. Predd, Patel. 2005. “Is That a Bomb in Your Pocket?”. 29 March 2010. 8. Sandra, Erwin. 2001. “Bomb-Detection Technology Useful for Countermine Ops”. 29 March 2010. 9. “What are Hard X-Rays?”. 29 March 2010. Read More